Not so Imaginary // On Hold // GxB Paranormal Romance

Part Seventeen | All that Glitters

S E V E N T E E N 

Somewhere deep in the depths of the earth, I stood in a small room looking up at a round jewel no bigger than a small coin. It was strung on a golden chain between the rafters like the world's tiniest chandelier. To say I was surprised would be a bit of an understatement. I guess I had been expecting something called The Crystal Sun to be a lot bigger.

"How do you think your ancestor would have been able to sneak it out if it were any larger?"

I had to admit, Charlie had a point. He watched while Sophia dragged a short, wooden ladder over to the center of the room and climbed up to where she could reach the chain. After she'd unclasped it, she set the jewel in a lined, wooden box and carried it over.

Before letting me touch it, she said, "Remember where you are. If you think you can try anything, think again. We'll have you locked-up before you can even get to the lift."

Ren, who had only been allowed along when I made it a condition of my agreement to help, glared harder at Sophia.

But she didn't need to worry so bad. I'd seen why they needed the crystal's power.

"Our ancestors thought if they brought it down here, just put it up, that's all there'd be to it," Charlie said, watching, "But clearly that was not enough. That's why we need you."

If they could get the Crystal working, its energy would stabilize the walls and stop the caverns from caving-in. It was also supposed to provide the energy needed to prevent failures and power interruptions in their system.

I picked the crystal up from the box and turned it over in my hands. "This tiny thing is it?" It looked like a nice necklace piece, but that was about all.

"A little respect," said Sophia, reaching out to grab it back, but I held it away.

"Right, sorry. It's just so..." I ran my thumb across the bevels of the jewel. "How do you know it's the real thing?"

"Guess we'll know for sure when you activate it," said Ren, and I couldn't help but think he was sulking a bit more than necessary. Okay, so I was helping his rival out. And I guess it also meant I was failing our mission... Well, crap. That would be pretty bad.

He pushed away from the wall and crossed the room to stand by me.

"Let me guess," he said, "You've got no freaking clue how to activate this thing."

I looked somewhat sheepishly from him to Sophia and back. "Nope. Not in the slightest."

A slow smirk slid up half his mouth. "Right. Hand it over."

Sophia moved between us. "Not so fast. Just what do you think you're going to be able to accomplish?"

"The Crystal was forged with the same magic as the ancient blades." Before Sophia could stop him, he'd snatched the jewel from my hand with the arm that wasn't in a sling. "If a Morrir blade can't produce a reaction--" Instead of finishing that thought, he tossed the crystal like he'd been throwing the oranges earlier and swung his scythe towards it.

The blade screeched against the jewel in a glowing cascade of red sparks. Tiny droplets of what looked like molten glass rained down onto the floor to where they cooled.

The three of us stood staring until the glow faded. That is, Charlie and Sophia and I. Ren kept his scythe in front of him when he said, face illuminated eerie red in its pulsing light, "Here's the thing. That crystal of yours was nothing more than a piece of cut glass."

Sophia got down and ran her hands over the places the glass had melted to the floor. "It can't be. It's been here for generations."

"And I'm gonna let you be the one to tell Lucy," said Charlie, backing toward the exit. He paused to flash a grin at me and where he thought Ren was standing. "Meanwhile, I've got a crystal to find."